INCREDIBLY fun game...once you get used to the mechanics and gamefeel, which can take 4-5 hours or more of just repeating tracks over and over to learn how the car controls. But man, it is worth the time, this is one of those games that just starts to feel amazing when you can confidently control your car. The minimalistic aesthetic gives it a wonderful flair that makes it all the more striking.
My only complaints are that the game tends to be inconsistent with how it detects drifts for the purposes of timing them and incrementing your multiplier. Kind of minor issues though, because the game is just pure fun to play and replay, and the fast respawn makes restarting tracks completely painless.
I question the decision to base the campaign on the free roam mode. Like CrackTheSky said, the only way to learn the game is to repeat events over and over, and the free roam mode doesn't provide any incentive not to half ass it and forget about the game.
That being said, it's totally worth it to move on to events after that and actually learn how to play.
Tip: the difficulty selection controls how much power you get, so if you feel hamstrung by the engine for some reason you're probably at a lower difficulty than you should be
My only complaints are that the game tends to be inconsistent with how it detects drifts for the purposes of timing them and incrementing your multiplier. Kind of minor issues though, because the game is just pure fun to play and replay, and the fast respawn makes restarting tracks completely painless.
Awesome, awesome game.
That being said, it's totally worth it to move on to events after that and actually learn how to play.